It’s been a while since there was a good neighbourhood bar on Oxford Street in Darlinghurst, Sydney. And due to various lockdowns, it’s taken Aaron Edwards & Lou Dare co-owners in Hank’s, a while for them to actually open it.

But now that this ground floor bar has finally been able to unlock the doors, it’s easy to say that the offerings are well worth the wait. The mixture of classic riffs and original drinks incorporate native ingredients in such a way that the menu truly stands out. The bar is taking sustainability very seriously as it brings a little of the bush into the inner city.

Ingredients include Illawarra Plum and Lavender Shrub (which they mix in with Starwards Whiskey for their Wild Horses cocktail), Lilly Pilly Sweet Tea (which they encourage you to mix with any spirit for their Boozy Billy Tea) and a Native Citrus Mistelle which they use in their paper Plane), all demonstrate how varied the native ingredients, as well as their application, can be.

They may not have a huge back bar (roughly 12 examples from each spirit category) but they are hand-chosen by Dare to ensure that what they do, they do very well. So even if you’re not in the neighbourhood, this is a bar well worth exploring because while things may not seem unfamiliar, Dare’s take and incorporation of native ingredients is a delight for the palette.

For more information, go to tryhanks.com.au or connect with the brand on Instagram